We are getting married in Maui and we have found the location we would love to have our reception dinner. (See photo). It’s a private cabana that seats 20 at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. We are having a small wedding and are really only inviting 18 close friends and family members (and we are not sure how many will definitely be able to make the journey with us.) Who will actually attend is not the kind of thing you can guess in this situation because it is quite a distance and expense so even those you just KNOW would be at your wedding may not be due to the expense.

The issue is that the location requires a $2000 food and beverage minimum to be met (before tax & fees) so in order to meet that minimum we need to have at least 15 people commit. We are concerned that if only 10 people can travel with us ultimately in the end, we will have to pay the difference to meet the minimum and this could cost us an additional $500-$600 dollars. The deposit is only 1/2 refundable so we would lose the same amount of money if we booked it and then had to cancel later as if our party were to be too small to meet the minimum and we had to pay the difference. If we knew in advance that we would have a smaller party we would just make reservations in the restaurant and forego the private cabana, so there is no need to meet any minimum. Our fear of waiting too long to make this decision is not having the chance to rent the cabana because it books up because it’s a very popular venue for weddings. It is my dream vision for our wedding.

Since we are not sending out our wedding invites until 6 months prior we have no way of knowing who can actually come….

So I am torn…. should we just book it and meet the minimum and enjoy our wedding day?? Or should we be practical and wait and see who can come and then book it if it’s available (wince) and if it makes financial sense.

@Sunshine805: If it’s your dream venue then book it. 500-600 Is a lot of money but in the the grand scheme of things it isn’t so bad. I guess you really have to figure out how much that means to you. Would you be disappointed not to have the cabana? Also, can you make a b guest list, so if people decline from your orginal guest list you can invite others to meet your quota?

Can you upgrade or add items until you meet the minimum? If you end up with less than 15 guests, see if the venue will let you upgrade once you have a final count, like to a premium bar or add a few more appetizers. This is what we will be doing if we come in under. If not, then it might be worth the extra money since you were planning on spending it anyway if you had 5 more guests.